Chapter Nine:
Jessica Rabbit
Santana pulled on a tight green dress, admiring the way it made her look in the mirror. It pushed her boobs out sky-high and showed off way too much thigh.
"I look like a hooker" she muttered under her breath before pulling the dress off over her head and tossing it into a pile of 'no'. She glanced over to the clock, it was half past noon and she was supposed to meet Brittany at the mall at one. "I'm going to be so freaking late." She groaned under her breath.
Saturday had come far to quickly and not quickly enough it seemed. Friday passed without any serious confrontation and Santana thanked God for the last-minute game cancellation against Allen East High. It gave her even more time to stress about her up coming hang out with Brittany.
"Hey, mom wants to know where you're going and when you're going to be back." Roman grumbled poking his head into Santana's room. Santana squeaked and jumped before picking up the nearest pillow to chuck at his head.
"Have you ever heard of knocking!" She shouted only to have her frustration received an eye roll in return. Instead of throwing the pillow she decided to cover herself with it. Sure she was in her underwear, but it was still weird.
"Whatever, it's not like I haven't seen those mosquito bites you call boobs a thousand times before. Just last night you came down to make dinner in sweats and a bra." Roman snapped back at her. Santana rolled her eyes right back at him, but said nothing. The last thing she wanted was to make her brother even more upset with her then he already was.
"Tell mom I'm going to the mall to hang out with Brittany." She said slightly softer this time. Roman raised an eyebrow curiously at her. "I'm trying to make things better okay?" She hissed. Santana didn't care much for his scrutiny.
"You better not make her cry again or else Santana." Roman retorted before finally leaving her room. She didn't need his warning to know it was true. Santana dropped the pillow and decided to wear something simple, jeans and low-cut t-shirt would do. Throwing her shoes on and grabbing her key off the counter, Santana rushed out to her car. The last thing she needed was for Brittany to think she had stood her up.
Santana ran her fingers though her thick hair as she sat at the longest freaking stop light in history. The mall was ten feet away and she was already ten minutes late. She could hear her phone begin to buzz in her purse, just out of reach.
"Shit. Shit. Shit." She grumbled as the light finally turned green. It was a good thing her mother wasn't in the car with her or else she might have a few choice words to say about her daughters bad driving habits. She circled the parking lot looking for a space. When she finally saw someone pulling out, she whipped around to pull in. The only problem was someone else was waiting for it. The angry driver yelled and cursed at her as she got out of her car, but Santana didn't have the time to deal with his shit. She wasl ate enough as it was.
Santana practically sprinted to the food court while trying to text Brittany that she had shown, but before she could even hit send she caught sight of the girl's porcelain skin and azul eyes.
"Hey! Hi. I'm here!" Santana huffed trying to catch her breath, but Brittany just gave her a cool smile that made Santana's heart do a back-flip.
"I thought you might have changed your mind and forgot to tell me or something." She said bringing a steaming coffee cup from the Lima Bean to her perfect soft pink lips.
"Sorry, Roman started talking my ear off about something stupid. I ended up getting ready late." Santana didn't like the idea of lying, but what was she suppose to say? 'Sorry I'm late B, I couldn't find the right outfit to empress you with' She internally scoffed and rolled her eyes.
"It's okay I totally understand. He likes to hear himself talk sometimes. You look cute by the way, you must have had at least a little bit of time to put yourself together." Santana wanted to roll over and die right there in the middle of the mall, people watching be damned.
"Thanks you look great too" She mumbled back feeling a deep blush hit her cheeks. Santana would never understand how Brittany could make booty-shorts, an off-the-shoulder duck shirt, and a yellow beanie look sexy as hell. "Where should we go first?" Santana asked as she began to feel fairly self-conscience of all the people potentially looking at them.
"I'm not sure. I've never been to this mall before, why don't you lead the way." Brittany smiled and stood up from her seat. "Oh did you want some before I throw it away? It's hot chocolate."
Santana shook her head no, but couldn't help thinking how cute the blond was to be even drinking hot chocolate.
"Uh, how about we start walking this way. There's a dress shop I like at the end. They also have great shoes." She pointed to the right.
"Perfect!" Brittany tossed her drink in the trash and linked her arm with Santana, unaware of the panic she was causing. 'Keep cool, Lopez. You're friends now. Friends do this kind of thing all the time."
They walked quietly together through the crowd of people. Santana had no idea what to say or how to even start a conversation with Brittany. Whenever she hung out with Quinn, it mostly consisted of the head cheerleader bitching for hours and Santana fantasizing about making out with her. Something told her that wasn't going to cut it with Brittany.
"Erm, so are you excited to start school at McKinley come Monday?" She asked taking a chance by looking over at Brittany. The blonde gave a half shrug.
"It was fun the first few times, now I'm just over it. Moving isn't nearly as for or exciting as it sounds. I'm hoping we'll stay in Lima this time for a change. It would be nice to make friends that last." Brittany didn't turn to look at Santana back, so the brunette focused on their destination instead.
"So you move a lot? How come? Is your dad military or something like that." Santana tried again wondering if she should change the topic when Brittany bit her lip.
"Yea something like that. Is this the place?" She nodded to a small little shop they nearly walked right by. Santana could tell she touched on a topic that Brittany didn't feel like sharing. 'Way to go. You upset her in the first five minutes' Santana sighed and followed Brittany inside.
It was early fall but the wracks were already stacked with winter apparel. Most of it was hideous. Santana frowned as she looked over a sweater dress that looked like something from the 80s. The thought of wearing it made her think of Berry and therefore want to puke.
"Sorry Britt, usually they have some cute stuff here, but I guess not today." Santana said as she gave a dirty look to a nearby clerk who had rolled her eyes. Brittany however didn't seem to feel the same disappointment.
"Santana, come here!" She called from across the shop. Thinking she must have found a hundred-dollar bill Santana quickly made her way over to the blonde. Brittany turned around. "You have to try this on." She giggled holding up a pair of fur leggings.
"Ew no!" Santana smiled pushing the ugly pants back at Brittany. "Not a chance those are heinous. I'd never be caught dead in that."
The moment Brittany pulled out her pout, Santana knew she never had a chance. Her big blue eyes and the way her bottom lip poked out made Brittany Pierce the single most adorable person on the face of the earth.
"I didn't say you had to buy them, just try them on. Come on! Please! It'll be fun!" Brittany begged pushing the pants toward Santana again. Santana wanted to refuse and she wanted to shoot whoever though fur leggings was a good idea. If she wanted to be fury she would wait and take part in 'No Shave November', but those eyes refused to let her say no.
"Ugh fine! No pictures though." This was probably the single most embarrassing thing she had done aside from being slushied the other day. She took the pants from a giddy Brittany and marched off.
"Oh wait, San! This too!" Brittany picked an ugly leopard print shirt out and passed it to her. Santana sighed and took the shirt walking off to the dressing room.
She fiddled around in the dressing room for several minutes getting her clothes off and putting the ones Brittany had picked out for her on. She'd never admit it to Brittany, but the fur pants were actually really freaking comfortable. Maybe they weren't outside acceptable, but she could picture herself walking around the house in them. The leopard top was just ugly, but at least they made her boobs look good.
"San, are you almost done! I want to see!" Brittany called from outside her dressing room. Reluctantly she opened the latch and let the door swing open. Santana felt her face flush as Brittany's eyes roamed over her from head to foot and stopping to rest on her cleavage. She might as well have been entirely naked, by the look Brittany was sending her.
"Your boobs look amazing in that top, but I think your right, those pants have to go." Santana closed her eyes and tried to mentally fight back against all the dirty thoughts that were suddenly assaulting her mind. It made Santana wonder if Brittany phrased the things she said on purpose or if it was all just a big mistake.
"Here! I also brought you more to try on!" Brittany beamed handing Santana a stack of clothes a foot thick. Santana looked bewildered, but Brittany just stood there patiently waiting for her to accept the clothes. Not wanting to disappoint, she took them from the blonde and began to change again.
Twelve dresses, twenty-two pairs of pants, thirty-one tops, and six silly hats later Santana and Brittany stood in the girls dressing room laughing so hard their sides hurt. They had spent the entire afternoon hoping from store to store trying on the most ridiculous outfits they could find for one another and talking in silly British voices as if that made them fancy. Santana couldn't remember the last time she smiled so much. Brittany made her insides feel warm and happy.
"Here, come on! One more Britt. Please! You have to try it on, come on!" Santana giggled pushing an odd red dress at the tall blonde, while wiping away her tears of laughter from her eyes.
"Okay fine one more." Brittany took the dress and closed the dressing room door. "Uh, I think I need help. This dress is weird." She called to Santana after a minute.
Without over thinking it for a change, Santana pushed the door to Brittany's dressing room open and locked it again behind her, so that she could help her new friend. It wasn't until she turned to face Brittany, that she realized just how small the room actually was. Brittany had gotten herself tangled up in all the different straps that came along with this particular red dress.
"Please help" Brittany whinned as she struggled to move her awkwardly trapped arms. Santana swallowed thickly trying to stay focused as she looked over the problem. It seemed that Brittany had put her arms through the wrong straps. Delicately Santana slid her hands along the blonde's soft, but tone body, helping to put everything in its place. To make matters worse, the dress kept inching up Brittany's thigh, until eventually Santana caught a glimpse of panties which read 'Smarty Pants'.
"Oh god." Santana whimpered causing Brittany to panic.
"What? What happened? I didn't rip it did I?" She asked wiggling around trying to see what Santana saw, but ended up making the dress slide further up.
"Nothing! It's nothing." Santana said quickly trying to fix the problem as fast as she could. A few good tugs later and an adjusted strap, Brittany stood facing the mirror in a skin-tight red dress which crisscrossed all across her body. The cloth hugged her ribs while dipping down her back, leaving her sides and hips exposed. The bottom portion held tight all the way around her naval, showing enough skin to make anyone want a better look in private.
"Jesus." Santana said in awe. " You look beautiful." She hadn't intended for the words to fall out so bluntly, but the scarlet shade Brittany's cheeks turned were well worth it. "Turn around for a second B."
Slowly Brittany turned to face Santana in the small dressing room, making it hard to breathe. Feeling brave Santana reached out and adjusted her friends top, so that her boobs fit even more perfectly into the bust of the dress. Once her eyes were there, she could hardly bring herself to tear them away from Brittany's perfect chest. She blinked hard and eventually found her way to her friends royal eyes, which were looking at her curiously.
"You need to get this dress B. You look like a princess—a super sexy—Jessica Rabbit, princess." Santana whispered as her hand slid down from Brittany's breast to her bare hip.
The sensation of skin on skin shocked Santana, making her pull her hand away quickly, but it wasn't enough to make her pull her eyes away which were now focused on Brittany's lips. Her whole body vibrated and her heart beat so loudly, she wondered if Brittany could here it. For a moment she felt herself being drawn in toward the stunning blonde. She could feel the heat from the girl's body making her skin prickled. Brittany was so close. It would have been so easy for Santana to lean in just a little ways further and press her lips to her friends.
"I can't." Brittany's voice jolted Santana from her haze and she quickly took step back toward the door.
"Can't? Can't what. I wasn't—I mean..." Santana struggled to find an explanation for her behavior.
"I can't buy the dress." Brittany said with a sad smile as she began to pull the bottom up to slide the whole thing over her head.
"What? Why not? It looks amazing on you. You have to. There's a big frat party coming up, you could totally wear it there. People will trip all over themselves just to talk to you." Santana insisted, though she didn't like the idea of other people flirting with Brittany.
"I can't afford it San and besides, I have a boyfriend remember?" Brittany said briskly as she tossed the dress aside. Santana could tell that Brittany was embarrassed and she wondered if she had in fact noticed the advance Santana had mistakenly made on her. Santana turned around to give Brittany some privacy while she dressed.
"I know, but just because you're dating my idiot of a brother doesn't mean it isn't nice to have other people flirt with you right? I'm with Puck and I still like to have people flirt with me." okay so it wasn't totally true. She actually hated when boys flirted with her, but this was Brittany not her.
"First off, don't call him an idiot that's mean. Second, that doesn't change the fact that I don't have the money to buy it. I thought this was more of a window shopping trip then an actual buying things trip." Brittany grumbled adjusting her beanie.
Santana bent over and picked up the dress off the ground and looked at the price tag. It was a steep fifty bucks and that was on sale. She didn't blame Brittany for not being able to swing that kind of cash, but that didn't mean she couldn't. Brittany moved to open the door, but Santana reached out and grabbed her hand.
"Wait. Do you really like the dress? I mean would you wear it to the frat party..." Santana's voice trailed off awkwardly.
"Of course, San, but it's not going to happen." Brittany said a little frustrated by Santana's persistence.
"Good. Then I'll buy it for you." Santana said flatly. She had never bought a dress for another girl, but no other girl looked as amazing as Brittany had in that little red dress.
"What? No, I couldn't let you do that San-" Brittany began to protest, but Santana cut her off.
"To bad. I want to do this and if you tell me know again, I'll buy it for myself and make you barrow it for the party. It's up to you." Santana said with a sly smile that made Brittany's face turn a light shade of pink. She loved that look. Santana watched as Brittany looked for a decent argument until she realized that this was not a fight that was going to be one.
"Fine, but I'm going to pay you back." Brittany stated firmly setting her hand lightly on Santana's collar, causing the latina's breath to catch. Her light tan fingers slid along Santana's shoulder, along the ticklish shin of her neck, then around to the back where Brittany toyed with the little hairs there for a moment. She leaned in so close that Santana thought she was about to be kissed, only to have Brittany's lips find her ear.
"Thank you." She whispered so low and softly that Santana practically turned to putty. Her core tingled between her legs which she was sure were about to give out on her. Santana had no idea what to say or even how to think as Brittany's fingers played with the back of her neck. They lingered for a moment longer before adjusting the back of Santana's shirt.
"Sorry, your tag was up." Brittany said excused herself for being so close without permission. She stepped back and gave Santana an expectant look, but Santana could no longer function. She just stood there trying to process what had just happened. Was Brittany actually flirting with her or had her just been sticking up?
Suddenly there was a pounding on the dressing room door which caused Santana to jump several feet in the air.
"Damn it all to hell!" She yelled throwing the door open to cuss out who ever had just startled her.
"Sorry ma'am. Only one person to a dressing room." said the attendant, successfully earning herself a Lopez glare.
"Come on B. Don't bother picking up anything. That's what the help is for." Santana snapped at the attendant. She knew she ought not be so rude, but the woman had disturbed her during a very private moment. After calming down a little Santana grabbed her purse and took the dress to the counter, paying for it with her daddies card. The only thing positive that came out of having a prick for a father was that he let her spend his money however she wanted to make up for being such a shit parent.
The woman wrapped the dress up in a nice bag and handed it to Santana, who in turn handed it to Brittany. The blonde smiled and thanked Santana profusely, but she just smiled.
"It's fine Britt really. I want you to have it, plus I hope it shows you that I am sincerely sorry about what happened at the dance. I wasn't myself." She confessed this time linking arms with Brittany as they strolled through the mall together.
"I forgive you San. We all do dumb stuff when we're drinking. I'm just happy we can be friends and that you don't hate me." Brittany confessed. "Also I've thought about what you said the other night. I know how important status is to you and I don't think it's fair to make you join glee club, but I really really hope you do. If you joined it would be so much fun."
Santana was stunned, but felt a great wave of relief at Brittany's words. It wasn't just because of glee club, but it didn't hurt ether. She liked whatever was starting between them. Maybe she could have Brittany the way she dreamed about, but at least Santana could have her in her life.
"Thanks Britt, it means a lot that you understand where I'm coming from. I was wondering if you wanted to maybe come back to my house and watch some trashy tv or something? Today has been a lot of fun and I'm not ready for it to end just yet." Santana asked shyly without looking at Brittany.
"That sounds great! Let me just call my brother and let him know. " Brittany pulled out her cell phone as they walked toward Santana's car. They had just reached the car when he picked up.
"Hey Jason, it's Brittany. Where are you at? Oh, well be careful." Brittany said sweetly into her phone. "I'm going to Santana's—er-Rome's house for a little bit. Can you pick me up there instead? Ew don't be gross. I'm hanging out with Santana, his sister. Jason, stop. That's not funny." Brittany muttered tossing a quick glance at a curious Santana. "What do you mean after ten?! You better not be going to one of those illegal tracks again... I don't care about that and if mom found out she'd be pissed."
Santana scrunched her eye brows. She knew she shouldn't be listening, but she couldn't help it. Brittany's voice grew very quiet, which concerned Santana greatly.
"...No, I haven't heard from her. Have you?" Brittany looked down and kicked a few pebbles which sat on the pavement. "Alright. Sounds good. Love you too. Bye."
"What was that all about?" Santana couldn't help but ask as they climbed into the car.
"Nothing important. My brother wont be able to pick me up until ten, if I go over to your place. Is that okay? If it's not maybe Roman could give me a ride to our new place?" Brittany asked tentatively.
"Of course you can stay. I don't have anywhere else to be, but are you sure everything is okay. Is your mom alright? I didn't mean to over-hear." Santana said sheepishly, but Brittany brushed her off almost instantly.
"Yea, she's fine. Nothing to worry about. I'm kinda hungry though, so if we could get going that would be awesome." Brittany said briskly.
They drove back to Santana's house in silence though, Santana could not stop playing the conversation over in her head. What did Jason say to Brittany to make her say ew. What illegal track was she talking about? Had Brittany not heard from her mom or was it someone else entirely. Did any of it have to do with the random house Brittany had stayed at the night before checking out McKinley. So many questions rattled around Santana's brain, but she could only draw one possible conclusion: She knew next to nothing about the girl she was hopelessly in love with.
Santana kicked open the front door and announced their arrival to anyone who might be home.
"Make yourself at home Britt. The TV's right there. I'll go make us some food." Santana kicked off her shoes and made her way into the kitchen, pulling out cheese, left over chicken, and a pack of tortillas. It took a matter of minutes for her to hear her brother's heavy footsteps bounding down the stair case.
"Of course he comes when food is being made." Santana muttered to herself.
"Britt! Babe! I didn't know you were here!" Roman said in loud surprise.
"She's staying for a while until her brother can pick her up. We're watching trashy TV together." Santana yelled defensively from the kitchen. She tapped her foot impatiently waiting for their chicken quesodilla's to cook. She glared at the way her brother hopped over the couch arm rest to kiss Brittany's perfect lips. She couldn't stand it.
"Hey hey hey! No Me Gusta!" Santana walked out into the living room barking at her brother, pulling the back of his shirt. "You can mack face on someone else's time, right now Britt's my friend not your girlfriend."
Brittany giggled at Santana's defensiveness, but helped push Roman away.
"She has a point. That wouldn't be fair. Especially because Santana bought me a really nice dress today, so I think she deserves to have my undivided attention for a little bit." She tossed a cryptic wink at Santana.
"Pft, fine whatever, but I better get a private look at that dress later. My sister has amazing taste." Roman said playfully back. Sure he wanted to hang out with his girlfriend, but any guy knew better than to come between two girl friends. "What'cha cooking?" Roman asked walking into the kitchen and poking around.
"Oh so you're talking to me again?" Santana snapped at him quietly so Brittany couldn't hear.
"Depends. How did the shopping go?" He retorted raising his eyebrow. "You know you can't just bribe someone into liking you by buying them nice things right. You actually have to be a nice person."
"Well tomorrow you can text her behind my back all you want and get the truth. We had an awesome day and yea, we're actually starting to become friends. Isn't that what you wanted in the first place?" Santana growled at him. She didn't appreciate her brother's attitude, though she understood why it was there.
Roman rolled his eyes and began to walk back to his room, when he stopped and came back.
"Oh, one other thing. I went into your room looking for my watch, you know, the one you always barrow for your midnight work outs. I found a stack of comic books under you bed. What's that about? You haven't been sneaking that Noah guy into your room have you because seriously, that's gross and I'd have to kick his fucking ass."
Santana stood in horror looking at her brother unsure of what to say, although her face was completely blank.
"I'll tell you about it later." She lied hoping he'd forget all about it or at least long enough to get rid of her secrete stash. "Nowz gets out of my way the Desperate Basketball Wives of the Jersey Shore is on." Santana said picking up her plate and salsa and walking toward Brittany.
"I'll be upstairs if this one starts to bore you baby, just let me know if you wanna have some real fun." He wagged his eyebrows making Santana physically want to puke. Brittany just rolled her eyes and waved him off.
"Ugh I so didn't want to hear that." Santana groaned, but still too a bite of her quesodilla. The last thing she wanted to think about was her perfect angle having sex with her brother.
"He wishes."
Brittany's reply made Santana do a double take. She looked around at Brittany who had an embarrassed, yet playful smirk on her face.
"What's that suppose to mean?" Santana asked though she wasn't sure she really wanted to know.
"It means exactly what you think it means, but I doubt you actually want to hear it or think about it." Brittany grinned and hit play on the DVR.
"You mean you guys haven't—like.." Santana nearly choked, but she couldn't help the feeling of joy spread through her cheeks. Brittany quietly shook her head.
"I mean, we've done some stuff, but no we haven't done it "Brittany reached over and took a bite of her quesodialla as well. "I care about him a lot, but I mean he is older. If I gave him everything right away there'd be nothing to work for right? I don't want to be just like any other girl he could find else where. Wow San, this is really good!" Brittany practically moaned.
Santana cleared her throat and tried to fight back her smile. Sure she didn't like the idea of her brother anywhere near Brittany, but there was something about the fact that they hadn't been together that she found comforting, not to mention all the mixed signals that Brittany had sent.
Santana settled into the couch a little closer to Brittany then she might have sat next to anyone else. She reached over and picked up the remote making the volume louder. Next to her Brittany gave a small yawn and rested her head on Santana's shoulder. Today was, without a doubt, one of the best days Santana had experienced in a long time and she hoped it would keep getting better.
A/N- Sorry for the wait. I haven't had much inspiration to write anything all recently. Hoped you liked this little bit of fluff chapter. Britt is a little mystery minx. Things are going to get fun soon-ish. Next chapter: What happens later that night and school fun times :)
Someone asked me for a face claim for Roman. I haven't been able to come up with one exactly, but this is my basic description of him in my head: Tall-about Brittany's height. He has a little bit darker skin then his sister. He has black hair that looks in need of a hair cut, but not long enough to be considered "long hair". He's handsome. Very handsome. He has a cocky spanish swagger about him, like Antonio *Banderez, when he's out with friends or with a girl. At home however he's a total dork and kind of a goof off. He has a really kind heart and didn't get the Lopez anger gene, but he did get the Lopez "conceited and a bit of a player" gene
That's what I picture in my head, but if thinking of Michael Trevino is easier that'll work.
Please review, but please also be kind if/when you do.
It's your kind words and thoughts that I look to for inspiration to write.
